Container having septum closure and closing cap having a septum closure

ABSTRACT

A container ( 1 ) for a fluid having a septum closure is characterized in that the closure comprises a cap ( 2 ) having at least one passage ( 3 ) and that the passage ( 3 ) is filled by an elastic closure material ( 4 ) and closed.

The invention relates to a container for a fluid having a septum closure. Furthermore, the invention relates to a closing cap for a container serving as septum closure.

A plurality of container models conforming to their genre as well as septum closures have been disclosed in the practice. Septum closures are usually made of a thermoplastic elastomer and allow the aseptic injection of reagents as well as the sample collection without impairing the sterility or the integrity of the content of a corresponding container. Normally, septum closures are made of a rubber-like material and can be punctured with injection needles, thus realizing an access into the container, wherein said access is used to add or remove fluids from the container. Septum closures are used for example in laboratory settings as well as for in vitro diagnostics or parenteral applications.

The main purpose of a septum closure is to simplify the sample collection or the addition of a medium and to reduce the risk of contamination. The actual septum closure must be kept sterile. Therefore, the septum closure is regularly covered with a removable cap which either comprises a passage or needs to be removed for handling the septum closure.

The septum closures known from prior art are complex not lastly because of the requirement of the actual septum closure and the additional closing cap and difficult to handle as a result. In addition, they represent a significant cost factor.

Therefore, the object of the invention is to provide both a container for a fluid having a septum closure as well as a closing cap as septum closure, the simplest design of which facilitates the easy handling.

According to the invention, the object mentioned above is solved with the characteristics of the coordinate patent claims 1 and 18. According to them, the container conforming to its genre for a fluid having a septum closure is characterized in that the closure comprises a cap having at least one passage and that the passage is filled with an elastic closure material and closed.

According to the invention, it was determined that it is possible to combine the actual septum closure with a conventional closing cap, namely in that the cap comprises a passage filled with an elastic closure material and is therefore closed. Consequently, the elastic closure material serves as septum, wherein the latter is an integral component of the cap. Because this is a one-piece work piece, both the manufacture as well as the handling are simplified compared to the prior art.

The closure is advantageously made of synthetic material or metal. Furthermore, the closure can be used to identify the content of the container. For this purpose, the closure advantageously comprises a definable color or color code. Other kinds of coding/labeling of the closure or the closing cap are possible.

In particular within the scope of the easy handling, it is advantageous if the closure is designed as a screwed plug. However, the closure can also be designed as compression closure or as flange cap or crown cork bottle cap. Other closure variants are possible, namely any time the closure is suitable to provide an integral passage with closure material.

The closure material used to close the passage can be a soft synthetic material or rubber. In any case, it is essential that the material is suitable for being penetrated or punctured by an injection needle.

In another advantageous design, the cap comprises two or more passages, for example three passages. Each of the passages is closed with a closure material, wherein the shape and/or size of the passages and accordingly the closure material can vary. This allows an additional assignment of a code to the closing cap, for example in respect to handling specifications or in respect to the removal or addition of substances. This makes it possible to specify a procedure or handling steps with the shape, size or the color of the closure material.

As mentioned above, it is advantageous if the closure material is recognizable as such. This is always ensured if the color of the closure material is different from the one of the closure or the cover. If a plurality of passages is provided, the closure material might have a different color for each passage, allowing the further color coding also in this respect.

It is essentially conceivable that the closure material exclusively fills the passage or the passages, i.e. is flush with the material of the closing cap.

Within the scope of a particularly advantageous embodiment, the closure material fills the passage or the passages and the cover frontally from the inside, thus creating an integral seal within the cover. The major advantage of said embodiment is that no other sealing is required.

In order to provide a sterile septum, the closing cap as a whole might be covered by a protective layer, for example a foil to ensure that the surface of the cover and as a result the closure material forming the septum is provided in sterile condition. To handle the device, the foil is torn off, i.e. removed so that the septum is freely accessible. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the closure comprises a special cover for the cap which covers the passage or the passages and as a result the closure material to keep it clean and which can be removed or flipped away from the cap. Said coverage might be made of the same material as the closing cap itself, wherein a perforated edge or a kind of defined point of rupture, for example in the form of ridges can be provided for removing the coverage.

On the one hand, the coverage serves the sterile provision of the septum closure and on the other hand the creation of a quality seal so that it can always be determined whether or not the container and the septum closure have already been used.

From a manufacturing point of view, it is advantageous if the cap and the coverage are made as a single piece. For this purpose, the closure in addition to the elastic closure material and the coverage, if applicable could be injection molded, preferably by means of the overmolding process. This way, the covering cap could be manufactured as a single piece in one tool within several process steps.

Furthermore, a special closing cap is claimed which can serve as septum closure for a container. Said closing cap comprises the characteristics according to the description above and can be used to close a variety of containers.

A number of options are available to design and update the teaching of the proposed invention in an advantageous way. For this purpose, we would like to refer to the dependent patent claims of patent claim 1 on the one hand and to the explanation of a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention below based on the FIGURE on the other hand. Generally preferred embodiments and updated versions of the teaching are also explained in connection with the explanation of the preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention based on the FIGURE.

In the FIGURE

the only FIGURE shows a schematic view of an exemplary embodiment of a container according to the invention, equipped with a closing cap also according to the invention.

According to the illustration in the only FIGURE, the container 1 is closed with a special closure, namely a so-called septum closure. The closure comprises a cap 2 having for example three passages 3, which are filled and closed with an elastic closure material 4.

Furthermore, the only FIGURE reveals that the geometries of the passages 3 vary, making it possible to define a corresponding coding.

The closure material 4 can be penetrated for example with the tip of an injection needle, thus realizing an access into the inside of the container 1. This allows the removal or addition of fluid from or into the container.

Once the needle or the tip of the needle not illustrated in the FIGURE is removed from the closure material 4 and as a result from the passage 3, the passage automatically closes again thanks to the elasticity of the closure material and the container returns to closed condition. An implied coverage 5 provides quality protection in unused status and guarantees the sterile provision of the septum closure. After use, it is conceivable that the coverage 5 can be reattached to the cap 2, namely to cover and protect the septum closure.

With respect to other characteristics not illustrated in the only FIGURE, we would like to refer to the general part of the description to prevent repetitions.

Finally, we would like to add that the exemplary embodiment outlined above only serves the exemplary explanation of the claimed teaching, without limiting the latter to the exemplary embodiment.

REFERENCE NUMBERS

-   1. Container -   2. Cap -   3. Passage -   4. Elastic closure material -   5. Coverage (of the cap) 

1-18. (canceled)
 19. A container for a fluid, said container comprising: a septum closure, wherein the closure comprises a cap having at least one passage and wherein the passage is filled with an elastic closure material and is closed.
 20. The container according to claim 19, wherein the closure is made of synthetic material or metal.
 21. The container according to claim 19, wherein the closure comprises a definable color or a color code for the identification of the content of the container.
 22. The container according to claim 19, wherein the closure is designed as a screwed plug.
 23. The container according to claim 19, wherein the closure is designed as compression closure.
 24. The container according to claim 19, wherein the closure is designed as a flange cap or a crown cork bottle cap.
 25. The container according to claim 19, wherein the closure material is filled with soft synthetic material or rubber.
 26. The container according to claim 19, wherein the cap comprises two or more passages each of which is closed with a closure material.
 27. The container according to claim 26, wherein a shape and/or size of the passages vary.
 28. The container according to claim 26, wherein a color of the closure material is different than a color of the closure.
 29. The container according to claim 26, wherein the closure material has a different color for each passage.
 30. The container according claim 19, wherein the closure material exclusively fills the passage or passages.
 31. The container according to claim 19, wherein the closure material frontally fills the passage or passages and a cover, thus creating a seal of the cover.
 32. The container according to claim 19, wherein the closure comprises a coverage for the cap used to cover the passage or passages to keep them clean and is detachable from the cap.
 33. The container according to claim 32, wherein the coverage additionally has the function of a quality seal.
 34. The container according to claim 19, wherein the cap and a coverage are made as one piece.
 35. The container according to claim 19, wherein the closure in addition to the closure material are injection molded, preferably by means of an overmolding process.
 36. A closing cap as a septum closure for a container, said closing cap comprising at least one passage, wherein the passage is filled with an elastic closure material and is closed. 